The Biggest Fears That Stop People From Starting Their Dream Kids Crafting Club

Do you dream of starting a kids crafting club, or taking your existing club to the next level but something is holding you back? What is your roadblock? What is that thing that is preventing you from moving forward? 

For some it is that they are afraid to take the next step, the fear of the unknown or failure, or even success. Others have the limiting belief they have to reinvent the wheel every step of the way and they get stuck. Perhaps it is that you think your hubby or partner won't approve of the idea of starting your own business or perhaps it is a confidence roadblock.

Having fear is a natural part of running a business and of life. I for one have many fears, I fear failure and I have a massive fear of what people think of me, I also fear every day that my toddler will fall off his bicycle. The key is to not let those fears stop you from following your passion and dreams, from living, from spreading creativity to the world and doing the work that you were destined to do. 

But what happens when those fears derail you and make you feel stuck? 

You find inspiration and you take action! The most important step is to just keep moving forward. 

You can watch part 1 of 2 episodes focussing on 'the biggest fears that stop people from starting their dream kids crafting club' below:

In running our kids crafting club and teaching others to do so too, we’ve seen and experienced so many fears over the years (and still do!), come along for the ride and let’s see if I can provide some helpful insight and give you a dose of inspiration.

Before we dive in! 

Today I have a challenge for you:

I want you to make a list of your fears, big and small, and then I want you to do something that scares you.

Have a think about it, is there anything that you have been wanting to do lately that you have been putting off, maybe your fear is to start something, a fear of taking the first step, maybe you’ve been wanting to create your crafting club’s Facebook business page and you have been to scared to hit publish, or maybe you have been ready to host a kids crafting class and thinking ‘I am not ready yet” and on the inside you are freaking out, or maybe you have been wanting to phone a venue to arrange a crafting workshop and just postponing it day after day or maybe it is something really really small.  

The truth is being scared is one of the biggest factors that holds people back, that slows you down, stopping you from making the progress that you want to make. This can be so frustrating!   

In the email that we sent out when you download our free information pack, we ask the question “What excites/ scares you the most about the idea of starting your own kids crafting club?” 

We read every single email and there is a recurring theme around fear, people telling us:

• “I don’t have enough business skills” 
• “I’m not creative enough to make it work” 
• We have had confidence related replies; “Why would people want to come to my classes?” 
• “I am scared people won't take me seriously”
• “My husband doesn't think this can be a real business” 
• “There is too much to do, I don't know where to start”, 
• “I feel embarrassed to leave my 'real job' for something that sounds like a hobby”

Emails loaded with confusion and fear and overwhelm. 

I thought to address this today as it breaks my heart every single time I read this as I know that each and every one of you are amazing and creative and there's a place in this world for you to spread that love of creativity by running a successful kids crafting club. 

When I read these emails I also smile because, you say you can’t do it but you are already doing it! You have already taken the first step. You have visited the internet, you have looked for information to help you realize your dream, you have found a blog or a website and you have read it. 

You have most probably already subscribed to get our info pack on how to start a kids crafting club (grab it below if you haven't yet) and maybe you have even answered one of our emails on what excites and scares you the most. You are already doing it! You are already doing the thing that you think you can’t do- by taking the first step.

Let’s be honest, failure will happen, failure is part of being an entrepreneur and no one starts walking without falling first. Let me tell you one thing, having fears and self doubt is normal and you are not alone! A number of unhealthy mindsets have plagued my business life, and anxiety and fear have crippled me at times.

Earlier in my kids crafting career I lost a lot of sleep. The nights before kids parties, big family crafting workshops, new school classes, demo days… I had sleepless nights over crafts flopping, kids freaking out, dreams of running late and not arriving on time, kids not showing up, and more…

I know how you feel. The funny thing is that for a long time I don’t even know that I had these fears and that they were holding me back.

The truth is that it was only after a massive breakdown that I made the effort to do proper introspection and I started writing and writing and writing. How I felt, what I feared and I tried to get to the bottom of it, to get to my real problem. I realized that there was a recurring theme, I was afraid to mess up and fail and I was scared to share my successes, failures and achievements with other people. It came down to that I was worried about what people thought of me. 

I was an architect in my previous life and it really bothered me what people thought of me when I changed careers to starting a kids crafting club. I had friends saying “surely you can do that as a hobby on the side and still have your “real job” of being an architect”, people did not believe in my dream and I was shy to voice it out loud. 

I found myself introducing myself as an architect when one of my dad's friends asks me what I do. Long after not being an architect anymore.  Why did I do that?? I really feared that people wouldn't take me seriously. But you know what, I have had so many friends NOT believing in my vision of starting a kids crafting club and now they are stuck in 9-5 jobs that they are not passionate about.

What’s the point! That’s not a life!!

NOW I feel completely differently about it. If I could stand on a mountain top and yell out to the world I would: Here’s what I would say:

I am a proud crafting club owner and I get to teach incredibly important skills to kids that will help them become our future leaders and innovators. I get to determine my own schedule, be creative and make money. I am in control.

How NEXT LEVEL cool is that!?

The other thing that I noticed was that I became a lot more relatable and people started engaging in  my story. Usually when people heard I was an architect the reaction was.. ohh fancy, and that was the end of the discussion. Now when I tell people what I do, they immediately acknowledge the importance of what I do, they ask questions and we get into discussions about kids development, about craft ideas, about the importance of the skills that the kids are learning, about the future of our children etc etc. It's amazing and so fulfilling.

You can probably tell that I feel passionate about this because I see first hand how these fears are holding women just like you back from following their dreams and creating businesses they love. 

If you can relate to anything I said today, now that you are not alone, many women in our community feel this way and there are ways to work through these fears. 

Next week I am going to share with you my tip tips on how you can deal with these fears and ensure they don’t hold you back from following your dreams. 

Before you go, let me know in the comments below what scares you.. Big or small. Share away! You are not alone.

Lots of love,
Christelle
XO